Norine A. MacDonald KC | |
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| Alma mater | University of British Columbia (BA, LLB),INSEAD (Advanced Management Program),MIT Sloan School of Management (Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy) |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, researcher, policy advocate, philanthropist |
| Known for | President and Founder ofRAIN Defense AI, Founder ofThe International Council on Security and Development |
| Notable work |
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| Awards |
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| Website | RAIN Defense AI |
Norine A. MacDonaldKC[1] is the President and Founder of RAINCLOUD, a global business and knowledge hub for the Defense + AI ecosystem.[2][3]
Ms MacDonald is former Visiting Distinguished Fellow atNational Defense University. In 2020, MacDonald authored 'Killing Me Softly: Competition in Artificial Intelligence and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles' with George Howell.[4]
She graduated fromMassachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management in Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy in September 2020.
She was formerly president and founder of TheInternational Council on Security and Development (ICOS), an international security and development think tank founded in 2002 with offices inKabul,London,Rio de Janeiro,Brussels andParis, and field offices in the Afghan cities ofLashkar Gah andKandahar City.[5]
WithICOS, MacDonald promoted innovation in the security and development sectors. She started what became a global organization aimed at driving change by building strategic coalitions, bringing together influential stakeholders and investors around innovative solutions and pilot projects to test them.[6][7]
MacDonald has appeared on CNN several times to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. In July 2008, she made a further appearance onCNN to talk about ICOS's report Iraq: 'Angry Hearts and Angry Minds'.[8] She also co-edited two books:Global Philanthropy andPhilanthropy in Europe: A Rich Past, A Promising Future.[9]
Since 2005, MacDonald has led an extensive programme in Afghanistan focusing on global security development. Through field research,ICOS investigated the relationship between counter-narcotics,military, and development policies and their consequences onAfghanistan's reconstruction efforts. The Council's reports and video footage provide insight into the deteriorating development and security situations on the ground, especially in southern Afghanistan, and make policy recommendations to a broad audience of senior policy-makers and experts inNATO countries.[10]
As President of The Gabriel Foundation, MacDonald was a member of theNetwork of European Foundations for Innovative Cooperation(NEF).[11] This is a platform which brings together twelve of the leading philanthropic organisations in Europe.
MacDonald was also a member of the International Advisory Council of theInternational Crisis Group(ICG).
In February 2007, she was awarded the First Class Medal of Merit of theItalian Red Cross for outstanding contributions to international humanitarian cooperation.[12]
In 2018, MacDonald was awarded the U.S. Department of the Army Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service and also in 2018, she received theDistinguished Public Service Medal for exceptional service to theUnited States Army.
MacDonald has international experience in law, academic research, policy, advocacy andphilanthropy. She has testified before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and Standing Committee on National Defence inCanada, and the House of Commons' Defence Committee in theUnited Kingdom. In October 2009, she testified before the US Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control during a hearing on 'U.S. Counternarcotics Strategy in Afghanistan'.[13]
MacDonald's work has been featured in a long list of publications including theSunday Times,The Globe and Mail,The New York Times,The Washington Post andthe Daily Telegraph, while she has also appeared onCNN,BBC,CBC,CTV andAl Jazeera International.[14] She reports in her biography that she is a member of theFrontline Club.[15]
Before foundingICOS, MacDonald was a partner in the law firm Bull, Housser and Tupper, specialising in commercial litigation, charities and tax law. Moreover, MacDonald held several prominent offices as a Bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia.
MacDonald holds a BA and an LLB from theUniversity of British Columbia, and completed the Advanced Management Program atINSEAD in France in 2005. She was appointedQueen's Counsel in 1997.[1]